Rapunzel: Unbraided
by Jewelsia
Summary: Claire and Vince were just normal teenagers who happened to dislike each other. Until one day, they wake up in Rapunzel and her prince's bodies. With no other decision, they set off to break the curse. Based on Disney's previous plan for Rapunzel. AU
1. Prologue

**A/N: First fanfic FTW! Anyways, Tangled is an awesome movie, and doing more research on it I am fascinated with all the previous versions that were in consideration. So, I decided to combine two of them. The one where Rapunzel and her prince turned into a squirrel and basset hound respectively and were replaced with two modern day teens named Claire and Vince (bonus points to Disney for planning on naming the two this,) and the darker, version that I believe that was being planned when Glen Keane was directing. **

**BTW, I don't own Tangled or Disney. BUT, I DO own a computer that I just watched the new footage of Tangled Ever After of. I'm now seeing Beauty and the Beast 3D...**

**Prologue**

Once upon a time, there lived a young poor peasant couple who was expecting a baby. After many, many months of trying, they could finally craddle their son or daughter in their arms. They could raise the child as their very own, teaching him or her everything about the world.

But they couldn't celebrate just quite yet.

The young woman's pregnancy was slowly making her ill and weak. His wife slowly dying, the man promised the woman that he couldn't let her die. There just had to be a way to cure the woman he loved.

A short walk away from the couple's house, there lived a middle-aged witch named Gothel. The villagers feared her. She was told to be more powerful than anyother witch that lived nearby, but unlike the other witches who used their powers for themselves and hid away from everyone else, Gothel used her powers to manipulate anyone who came her way. She could easily turn a prince into a frog if she wanted to. Or a king into a dragon. Or a dragon into an ant. She wouldn't care less.

Still, Gothel could also just as easily heal the sick and injured. You would just have to make sure to never anger her. Some legends told that Gothel would rather kill than heal.

The peasant man still stood in front of her dark, massive house. He couldn't be afraid of a witch who was double his age. He was doing it for his wife.

The man nervously jogged up to Gothel's front door and knocked. No answer. Again. No answer.

The man was angry yet glad at the same time. He didn't have to confront that horrible woman. Yet, he still had to do something. He was just about to leave when he saw a shimmer out of the corner of his eye.

He looked around, only to find a tiny garden situated at the side of Gothel's mansion. The garden was filled with lettuce. Not just any lettuce, but _golden _lettuce.

The man had to be seeing things.

But yet, something lured him towards that lettuce. It just gave him a hope that he'd at least be able to feed his wife a decent meal. He anxiously looked back and forth, and took the lettuce.

That night, he prepared a delicious salad for his wife. The wife was pleased, and devoured the lettuce in a few minutes. The salad was delicious, unlike anything she had ever tasted. Soon after, the woman drifted to sleep. As soon as she woke up, her illness was instantly cured. The peasant woman felt better than ever. But horrible greed overcame her. She demanded that her husband would get more of the lettuce. She swore that she wouldn't live without it.

Weeks passed, and everyday the man would run over to the witches house and grab more and more golden lettuce. Everyday he'd make a salad, and everyday his wife would devour it quicker and quicker. It quickly became a habit-until one day...

The man ran over to the Gothel's house and noticed that there wasn't any lettuce left. He had stolen all of it. A sudden wave of guilt washed over him. He was just leaving to tell his wife when the witch appeared in a burst of gold light right in front of him.

The man fell onto the ground in surprise. The woman wasn't ugly or scary, actually quite attractive, but the knowlage of what she could do to him made him quiver in fear. He could defend himself, but he couldn't bother. He was too scared.

"Who dares trespass into my garden?" The witch yelled. Her voice sounded raspy and loud, somewhat unpleasant.

"I-I-my wife..." The man couldn't complete his sentence, in fear of what was to come.

Gothel sneered, "I don't give a care about your wife! You trespass into my garden-" she looked up in horror, "-and steal my gold _rapunzel!_ Do you know what that stuff is compatible of doing?"

The man just shook his head.

"It's enchanted. It heals the injured, cures the sick. It's extremely addicting though. If you start eating it, you can never stop. Otherwise, you're doomed." She narrowed her eyes at the man, "And you ate all of it!"

"Um-er, actually my wife did. She's expecting baby very soon, and I pray-"

"Wait? A baby?" The witch smirked.

The man gulped and slowly nodded.

"Listen, I'll let you and your pretty little wife go too. In return, you give me your baby."

"WHAT! What would you use a baby for?"

"I have my reasons."

The man thought this over. His life against an unborn baby whom he didn't even know was a boy or a girl. Even so, the witch would get a hold of his wife and if she were to kill her the baby wouldn't survive either. It was extremely obvious, "Deal."

And with that, he shook Gothel's hand and walked the opposite direction. The witch warned him before going inside, "and don't try to run away. I have the power to locate you. Remember that." The man hadn't even considered running away.

The wife was furious with her husband, but in the end she agreed with his decision. A month later, she had given birth to a beautiful, blonde baby girl with large green eyes, just like her mother. But with her birth, the woman died. The man was far to saddened about his loss that he forgot all about the witch. The love of his life was gone, and he had no idea why-until Gothel showed up in the middle of his kitchen.

"So, the baby?" the witch held out her hand towards the man.

"No! You can't take her! Didn't you hear, her mother..."

"I'm aware. I've been aware for about a month now. No one survives after eating that _rapunzel_. They'll just grow sick again, even more sick than before. Now, our deal. The child please."

The man hugged the poor baby to his chest. He was going to lose everything. All because of lettuce. He unwillingly held out the baby to the witch.

"Perfect. I thought you were going to try getting out of this," she grinned, "One thing you should know about me, I can never break a deal."

And with that, she disappeared into a flash of gold light.

Gothel knew exactly where to go. There was a hidden tower in the middle of the forest several miles away from the Kingdom of Corona that was guarded by a powerful type of magic that made it hidden to anyone who wasn't looking for it. It was the perfect place to hide a baby girl.

Gothel named the baby _Rapunzel, _based on the lettuce that grew in her garden. She raised the daughter as her very own, teaching her how to walk, talk, read, write and paint. Her hair grew at an extremely fast pase. By the time she was 3 it reached to the floor of the tower. The tiny girl was extremely curious, and she often spent many days gazing outside her window wishing that she could go outside. Whenever she asked though, Gothel would frown and say-

"The outside world is a dangerous place Rapunzel. Everyone takes advantage of each other, and kindness is frowned upon."

Young Rapunzel wasn't really exactly sure what she had meant. Then again, her "mother" was the only person she had ever talked to.

On the night of Rapunzel's eighth birthday, Gothel was just laying her to bed. The problem was, Rapunzel was wide awake. Gothel, having no idea what to do, started singing a lullaby. It wasn't really a lullaby meant to lure a child to sleep though, it was actually a spell she had learned a long time ago. It was often sung to unlock and use the magic in enchanted healing objects, such as the lettuce that once grew in her garden. That way, she didn't have to eat the lettuce to be healed. But Gothel figured that it would work as a lullaby as well.

"_Flower, gleam and glow,_

_Let the power shine,_

_Make the clock reverse,_

_Bring back what once was mine, _

_Heal what has been hurt,_

_Change the fate's design, _

_Save what has been lost, _

_Bring back what once was mine,_

_What once was mine."_

It first started as a faint glow coming from Rapunzel's hair, but then it expanded. Rapunzel's blonde hair was _glowing. _Actually glowing, like it was being lit up. Both Gothel and Rapunzel numbly stared at the hair.

Gothel at first was extremely confused, but then she realized something. _The lettuce. _What if the magic from it transferred into the little girl? What if Rapunzel could heal like that rare lettuce? Even if that was the case, something inside of Gothel snapped.

"Rapunzel! This is why you can never leave the tower! This-um-gift must be protected! This rare ability will not be treated well by others." And with that, the witch blew out the candle and left Rapunzel sitting alone on her small bed, staring at her hair.

_A gift that must be protected?_ Rapunzel frowned. Glowing hair seemed more like a curse than a gift.

Rapunzel quickly found out why. One day, Gothel came to the tower with a deep cut on her elbow. Rapunzel didn't question why her mother was injured, but Gothel told her to sit down and sing the lullaby for her. As Rapunzel sang, her hair glowed, and Gothel wrapped the long, blonde hair around her elbow. Once the hair was taken away, the cut was gone and Gothel's elbow looked clearer than ever.

_A gift. _

As Rapunzel grew older and older, adolesence quickly caught up to her. She seemed to grow older and more mature by the day, and Gothel hated this. The clumsy, naive little girl who tripped over her hair all the time had transformed into a teenager, a young adult. Gothel was aware that Rapunzel wasn't dumb as she looked, and knew that the longer she kept her in the tower the more Rapunzel would want to go outside and the greater a chance of someone finding the girl.

Still, Gothel would never let anyone touch her precious flower, even if it was the last thing she'd do.

**A/N: I was originally going to upload 3 chapters right away, but I just finished the first one and thought I would benefit more by uploading 1 chapter at a time. Aaaannnddd, I have no idea how to end these things, so the next chapter should come eventually. Deadlines don't work for me, but it's almost Christmas so I'm busy. About a week? Reviews are encouraged and I'll try to respond. **


	2. Alone

_I can't take this anymore._

Rapunzel pulled on her hair and sighed. Mother just kept on getting heavier and heavier every day, or at least to Rapunzel. Heaving her up the tower was one of her least favorite chores. She was happy to do it for Mother though, and she tried to keep a smile on her face as Mother greeted and embraced her.

"Oh, how exhausted you look Rapunzel! Are you sure it's alright for you to pull me up? I'm afraid I don't have the strength I once had."

_No. _"Sure, whatever you want Mother." Her fake smile grew bigger.

"Thank you dear," Gothel said as she hugged her tighter, almost as if she's scared to let her go.

Rapunzel broke away. "So, Mother. I was wondering, you know-um-my birthday is in a couple weeks."

"I can't hear you, speak up."

"My birthday, I was sort of wondering-"

"You know how much I hate mumbling."

Rapunzel sighed and yelled, "MY BIRTHDAY IS IN 2 WEEKS AND I WAS WONDERING-"

Gothel instantly covered Rapunzel's mouth. "Shhh. You know you can't yell in the tower."

"Oh, right. We don't don't want to attract ruffians, thugs, or any other animals to the tower," Rapunzel recited what Gothel had told her dozens of times. "Got it."

"So, what about your birthday dear?"

"I was thinking, for my birthday instead of a present, I could go outside."

Gothel instanty frowned. "No. The outside world is a dangerous place full of-"

"I know that, but _why. _In the fairy tales I read when I were little, they _always _had a happy ending." Rapunzel knew she shouldn't bring this up, but when she was little Mother brought her a satchel full of books that she had collected. Most of them were nonfiction, covering subjects that Mother had started teaching her, but there was one book that caught her attention the most. A fairy tale book, which was filled with stories about royalty, magic and love. She read most of them in a day, and when Mother caught her reading the book she instantly took it away.

"Fairy tales are unrealistic. This is the real world Rapunzel. Nobody gets a happy ending. All men do is break your heart."

Rapunzel had read all but one story in the book, the very last one. She wasn't even able to read the title before Mother had taken it away. The thought that a prince could come and save her from the tower never crossed her mind until then. Although Rapunzel loved her Mother, she sort of hated the tower. It was small and dark, not the ideal place to spend your whole life in. Rapunzel tried to make the most if it but painting the walls and requesting furniture, but it only helped a little. The thought that a prince-or anyone-could save her from this place gave her hope.

Gothel just shoke her head in disgust. "Fairy tales are fiction. Someone with too much time on their hands wrote them. You can't believe them."

Rapunzel opened her mouth. She wanted to argue, but was afraid that she could get in even more trouble. "I'm sorry that I even brought it up. It-it was a stupid idea anyway." It wasn't, she really wanted it, even if only just to run around the tower a couple times and feel the grass on her feet.

"Oh, it's okay Rapunzel. It's just, _safer _here. Believe me, you'll understand one day."

Rapunzel just nodded and stared at her bare feet.

_Just once. _

Gothel made hazelnut soup, but to Rapunzel the food that she usually would like tasted bitter and too cold. Once Gothel left Rapunzel stayed silent, staring out the window until her Mother disappeared out of sight and whistled a three note tune. Normally, she wouldn't bother Clarisse this late, but she needed a friend. Even if that friend was a squirrel.

Clarisse scrambled out of the crack near the tower window. Rapunzel had found her at the beginning of winter hidden in the same crack when she was 16. Clarisse was just a baby, and half frozen to death. Rapunzel noticed she was still alive, so she took the poor baby inside and slowly nursed her back to full health. Gothel had no idea Clarisse existed. Rapunzel didn't want to lose her first friend so quickly, so she kept it a secret. Also, there was no telling of what Gothel would do to Clarisse.

"I'm so sorry. Were you sleeping?" Rapunzel asked.

Clarisse just gave her a look as if she was saying, _Are you kidding me?_

"Sorry. I just wanted someone to talk to."

Clarisse nodded.

"So, have you ever touched the ground before? Or were you born in the tower?"

Clarisse pointed to the crack.

"Oh."

Clarisse nodded and looked down at the ground, almost longingly.

"I want to go down too. But apparently, it's way safer up here for me. I'm not sure about squirrels."

Clarisse gave Rapunzel an offended look, which caused Rapunzel to giggle. "No offence."

Rapunzel watched as the sun sunk lower in the atmosphere, bathing the sky into a beautiful canvas filled with a mixture of oranges, pinks and purples. The sunset was Rapunzel's favorite time of the day. Everything seemed so peaceful and quiet, and for once Rapunzel felt that maybe being trapped up in a tower for this long wasn't so bad afterall.

Clarisse was dozing off on Rapunzel leg. Not wanting to leave and wake her up, Rapunzel started singing. Mother always said that singing made you happier. If that was the case, Rapunzel sung as much as possible. It didn't necessarily make her happier, but it gave her something to do when she couldn't talk to anyone.

_I've got my mother's love,_

_I shouldn't ask for more,_

_I've got so many things,_

_I should be thankful for,_

_Yes, I have everything- except, I guess, a door,_

_Perhaps it's better that I stay in,_

_But tell me... when will my life begin?_

Little did Rapunzel know, it would begin. That night, actually.

**A/N: I was originally going to squish the next chapter in with this one but it didn't seem to work that well with the narritive. Sorry if it's too short.**

**Anyway, When Will My Life Begin (Reprise 1) Lyrics owned by Disney. Same with the Healing Incantation in the prologue.**


End file.
